Originally being born and raised in Skokie, Illinois as the middle child of three boys along with their family dog, Alex Studer did not have many opportunities to visit the city while growing up.

Nonetheless, attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign opened a range of social, academic and networking opportunities for Alex as he majored in advertising with a minor in communication.

Furthermore, having been approached by an AAF executive board member on Quad Day during his sophomore year, Alex has come a long way in obtaining his position as the president of AAF.

Much of his responsibilities include making sure that AAF is running smoothly, while also overseeing all executive board members and encouraging them to innovate their committee and area of focus.

“Additionally, I direct special projects that can be anything from giving life to a campaign idea, leading a client team, or inter-exec initiatives to name a few,” he said. “My ultimate responsibility and goal is to grow this organization further from a micro and macroscopic standpoint.”

Before Alex was able to become president, he had to make his way onto the executive board. And in order to do so, he met up with a few executive board members his sophomore year before submitting his application.

“My mentor was the previous VP Member Relations, and I wanted to take over the program and give as many people as possible the experience I had in it,” he said. “I wanted to innovate the [mentor/mentee] program in a way that would give an enhanced experience to members and foster an even stronger sense of family in the organization through social events.”

Since then, Alex has dedicated much of his time and efforts into making AAF a better organization as he vouches for the immense amount of influence that it had on his personal, professional and academic career.

“AAF is the reason I found my purpose. These past few years, this organization has helped me develop skills, push myself out of my comfort zone, and grow personally and professionally in ways I couldn't even imagine,” he said. “It has given me countless opportunities to succeed and I wouldn’t be where I am today without AAF.”

Such opportunities included his position as a Marketing Intern at HealthSmart International in Waukegan, IL during his sophomore year as well as his position as a Client Engagement Intern at Bailey Lauerman in Omaha, Nebraska.

With an impressive resume, Alex has a promising future although he has yet to make permanent plans for post-graduation.

“As of now, I'm taking the semester to reflect and figure out where I want to end up,” he said. “I'm absolutely in love with the advertising industry, so I can imagine myself working for an agency after I graduate. I'm keeping my options and mind open, but I'm ultimately looking for an opportunity that will continue to mold me into the best version of myself possible.”

Nonetheless, with a vast amount of experience and love for the organization, Alex leaves the AAF community with a few pieces of advice:

1.“Get out of your comfort zone. That is the single piece of advice that I can attest to producing life-changing results. There is no way to grow if you don't push yourself to do things you wouldn't normally do.”

2.“Make an impact. This doesn't just apply to AAF. Wherever you go in life, make sure you leave a mark. Make them remember you. If you develop this mindset, you'll unconsciously work harder and produce better results.”

3.“Never settle. If you accomplish something, don't stop there. Push yourself to achieve your next goal. I reached my professional goal of becoming president of AAF, but I'm not stopping there. There is always something you can be working towards. Always. You're capable of more than you know.”

With advice equivalent to words of gold, we thank Alex for his commitment and passion towards AAF, and wish him the best of luck in pursuing his advertising career after graduating.